Brock's newsletter  |  AUGUST 21, 2026  Balconies and pizza ovens. |
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Lori and I are deep in negotiations over including a brick pizza oven in our ongoing yard renovation.  By negotiations, I mean I’m fruitlessly voicing my objections, and she will get what she wants regardless. But hear me out.  As a man who has never made pizza from scratch once in his entire life, I am doubtful about the amount of time I will likely use this pizza oven, and as it costs probably $6K in brick and labor, if we use it three times, which sounds optimistic, simple math tells me these will be needlessly expensive pizzas.  But a pizza oven! I agree that the vibes and aura of such a thing are top-level. And I’m reminded of how much buying, owning, and renovating real estate reflects not just who we are, but who we want to be.  You see it everywhere. We furnish never-used guest rooms, build out fitness rooms that lay idle, buy houses with incredible home theaters, when we’d rather watch a movie in bed.  |
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Anyways, I’m doing here what I do everywhere: eyeballing the real estate and annoying my brothers, who are also real estate agents, by asking what everything is worth.  Like most cities in Canada, there are a ton of condo towers. I was telling my brother, who is a realtor, about how the condo market in LA is so soft, mainly (I believe) from the lack of outdoor space/yard, which post-Covid everyone wants, and also the tightening lending requirements, and we started talking about condo balconies.  |
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He said it’s impossible to sell a condo without a balcony, but they exist. He shows them, but everyone says, "No thanks, I need a balcony.”  He shook his head and laughed. “I tell my buyers, look at the skyline, look at all those condo towers. Do you see anyone, anyone, on their balcony? Ever?”  Well, now I can’t unsee that, and everywhere I go, I’m looking for people on balconies. And I don’t see a soul.  Not having coffee on a sunny morning, not having a glass of wine at sunset.  |
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The function of every balcony in Canada appears to be storing Yeti coolers and mountain bikes. Â But everyone insists on having one, thinking they will BBQ and lounge. In fact, I said, I also would never buy a condo without a balcony. I would definitely have coffee on my balcony. And developers know that, so always include them. Â And they end up being outdoor storage units. No one uses a balcony, but everyone still wants one. Â |
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Surprise, Surprise  So yes, the pizza oven is happening.  And it’s fine. We buy things that represent the life we aspire to, not necessarily the life we're actually living. The only reason I’ve never made a pizza is that I didn’t own a pizza oven!  Also, you are allowed to add features that exist mainly for aesthetic purposes, or just for “resale” (“the next owner will definitely use this”).  So even if it's just for vibes and aura, whether it's balconies or pizza ovens, we can all use real estate to aspire to a better life.  I’ll let you know how the pizza comes out. Send recipes.  |
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3020 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026, United States |
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